Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClearPolitics,

For three years in the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was heralded as the second coming of Winston Churchill. He earned standing ovations from Congress, posed for glossy photo shoots, and received regular envoys of politicians, celebrities, and press from the West.

But one moment in the Oval Office may have ended it all.

Zelensky publicly crossed his greatest ally, calling into question before the press whether President Trump and Vice President Vance, now seeking to negotiate a peace deal, really understood both the land war in his country and his enemy, Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was summarily kicked out of the White House.

The Ukrainian leader, who at times rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in defiance during the fiery bilateral meeting, either fundamentally misunderstood, or entirely miscalculated, the current moment in American politics. His alliance with the United States, if not the fate of his country, is imperiled.

"He doesn't recognize that Nov. 6 was a paradigm shift in American politics, including for our policy toward Ukraine," a White House official told RealClearPolitics after Zelensky departed the White House with a stone-faced delegation in tow but without a signed deal to facilitate U.S. mining of rare minerals in Ukraine.